The U.S. added 130,000 jobs in January, above expectations, following a year of paltry employment growth.
The unemployment rate was 4.3%, largely unchanged, according to estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Jobs in movies and music increased by 13,900, to 360,900. Jobs in broadcasting and with content providers fell by 4,800, to 335,900.
The biggest job gains were in health care, social assistance and construction, while employment in federal government and financial services fell.
Average hourly earnings rose by 15 cents, to $37.17. Average hourly earnings have increased by 3.7% over the past 12 months.
Job estimates for November and December were revised down by 17,000. The BLS also announced its annual adjustments to data for the year, showing that 2025 saw job gains of only 181,000, from 584,000.
Heather Long, chief economist for Navy Federal, wrote on X, “The job market appears to be stabilizing. But this is still a frozen ‘low hire, low fire’ labor market, especially outside of healthcare. We need to see hiring pick up in more industries than healthcare.”